Yulissa replies March 2014

Another beautiful day and another beautiful letter from my sweet Yulissa. As always, she replied to all my questions which is the most wonderful part of the letters to me. So here is her sweet letter.

"Dear sponsor Mani,

I am very happy to be greeting you, I am fine and let me tell you a story about the picture (I had sent her a pic which I thought was super cute), I was 5 years old and I cut my bangs because I wanted to be a hair stylist. My parents and siblings are fine. My dad is getting better slowly. I hope I can get to middle school and keep studying so I can be a professional. Would you tell me about your culture? I would like you to send me more pictures of you. I say goodbye wanting to write another letter already (Isn't she the sweetest? :)).

Thank you for being in my life.

Yulissa"

I have always felt that she writes the best letters. She always knows what to say and she has this very nice way of seeing and putting things. I love that the best about her. She seems to be like one of those genuine kids who is really lovely from the heart. I have plans to see her next month and I can't wait for it.

~Cheers

Yulissa's yearly update 2013

After her B'day, as expected her profile details were updated. Her pics are updated in May and her profile is updated in September. So here are the details :)

My dear sweety is definitely growing. She is 4'9" now and weighs 117 pounds. Her weight is of a concern because, her health report from last year said she was having second level of obesity. But she is being treated for it. Her fav. subjects are history and science now. She has moved away from Mathematics. She has always done great in school. She is an excellent student. I will probably get another educational report after March, after her current school year probably. She does general housework and loves to draw.Her fav pass times are everything from playing with dolls, cars and toys and also riding the bicycle. 
The monthly income has come down to $167. That is understandable as her dad had to quit work because of some work accident. Her mom is also listed as Homemaker. Not sure who is contributing to the income. This is a bad break for them coz, her income jumped from $230+ to around $400 and now it has come down to less than $200. Her living conditions are pretty much the same as last time and she recently got a new bed too. So I am happy for her... And guess what, I will definitely be able to see her. Can't wait for it...
~ChEeRs

Yulissa's second SNG after birthday :-)

After the confusion with Yulissa's SNG and Nicolle's donation, the good thing was that there were two donations made to Yulissa and that meant two letters from her.
The Birthday SNG is already updated. And this is the second letter that I got from her :)

The main reason for this SNG was the mattress that she had been needing for sometime. And thankfully she got it.

Yulissa's Comments - "I really thank you for all the support you have given me, me and my family always pray for your well being, I hope to meet you someday and give you a big hug for being so good with me"

And now for her sweet letter as always - 

"Dear donor,
I can't thank you enough for the mattress I received thanks to you because the one I used to have had the bedsprings coming out. Thanks to your donation I also got other things for me and a detail for my cousins and siblings, something little but they will love it. The greatest thing is that you care about me. Soon will be Christmas and I wish you the best. Happy holidays! Thanks and I say goodbye!
Thanks for being part of my life!
Yulissa"
As always she writes beautiful letters. She also had a nice drawing in the back of the letter. Have already replied to her. Can't wait for her letters again :)
~Cheers

Yulissa's birthday SNG reply and more :-)

A good week it was and not all was as I feared before... Initially when I blogged about Nicolle's b'day SNG i mentioned that even Yulissa's b'day fund was put up with Nicolle. After mailing the CI team I found out that it was only wrongly updated in the site but it was divided correctly and Yulissa did get her b'day gifts on time :). That wasa huge relief. True to their word, I received the mails a week later. I got the b'day SNG reply and also a letter probably written before that :).
Also in all this fiasco, I sent her another SNG thinking she did not get her b'day gift. So looking fwd to one more letter next week ;)
So the SNG details first - 
"Child or family's comments on SNG - Yulissa says - 'Thank you sponsor for all the support that you give me, I did love to meet you someday and personally thank you for all this.'
Benefits to the family - It is of great help since the mother is only working twice a week so it's a great support for Yulissa and her family. (Yulissa father was paralysed due to some accident a year ago I believe)
And the exciting part - the actual letter - 
Dear Sponsor,
I want to thank you for all your support, it was very helpful. Thanks for caring for me; on my birthday, I had a cake and my aunt gave me a purse she made with raffia. With your donation I was able to get clothes and groceries for me and my family. Also some shampoo and some detail for my siblings. I say bye and thank you for all, goodbye for now.
Thanks for being part of my life.
Yulissa"

Also as always, there were photos too. :)

This is not the end of it... I also got another letter from her :)
"Dear Mani
I am glad to greet you. My dad is better. On vacations I had fun with my family. By the way, I loved seeing your pictures and your friends'. I did like you to come. My siblings and my mom are fine and my little brother is fine because he is starting kindergarten. Say hello to your friends, they seem to be good persons. Goodbye and thank you so much. See you soon. 
Yulissa"

Her drawings are a stark contrast to Nicolle.. She always prefers the light colors... I love both their drawings so much :). So here is a Yulissa's special ;)

~ChEeRs

Yulissa's latest letter - July 2013

A happy day as I got Yulissa's latest letter. I have to say this is the longest I have waited for a letter from Mexico. They always had a very good turnaround time with letters before. As long as Yulissa is doing good I am happy. Yet another sweet letter from my sweet Yulissa. She also had this sweet coloring on the back. Here is what she said - 
"Dear Sponsor Mani
Hello Mani, it is a pleasure to write you again. If I could I will write you every day. I am doing great because next month I will be in vacations. I will pass to sixth grade. I will be back to school on August; scholar(school I guess) period vacations are different than yours. I am doing great at school, I was about to be part of the scholar escort, but the professor told me that I am taller than my classmates.
I hope I can write you soon to tell you about my vacations, write you soon, goodbye.
Thanks for being part of my life
Yulissa"
As always, her mails are really really sweet. Wish I could mail her all day too :). Some day... Some day I really wish I can go to Mexico and see her...
~Cheers 

Yulissa's special needs request report from Mexico

I had sent a special needs request to Mexico office regarding any improvements that I can make for Yulissa. And they got back pretty quick... Here is what they had to say...
"Greetings,
We talked to Yulissa's family and she told us that their main need is building a new room in their house. They would need:
6 sacks of cement
20 sacks of lime
500 blocks
3 beams of 4 meters each
100 bricks
3 meters of sand

Total $1,190

There would be no labor cost because Yulissa's grandfather is a bricklayer so he could build the room. The family also needs a wooden bed base($53.29) and a twin size mattress($94.39)
We understand that the sponsor wanted to know the family's main needs totaling $500 but we wanted to inform him about all their main needs.

Best regards,"
All in all, when I consider everythin, the overall total comes to around $1340. I am hoping I can send something, maybe, in a couple of months. So hoping.

~ChEeRs

Yulissa's first letter in 2013 :)

Happy Happy Happy day :). I got another letter from my sweet Yulissa... As always, she answers all my questions. Here s another super letter from her :)
"Dear Mani
Hello, I am also very happy to write to you. My father is doing better but he forgets things sometimes. My mother cuts my hair, but she is afraid of not doing it right. I have been doing well. I don't get sick often and I did well on vacations. I rested. I am happy to write to you. I have to say goodbye for now. Thank you for writing to me. 
Thank you for being part of my life, (That was printed)
Yulissa Sarahi"
And that was not all. As always, she also colors/draws well... there was a coloring at the back... The best thing that got me with that coloring was what she had written on the side.
She had written in English - "Welcome of House The Mani". She is the most adorable thing I have in my life... Here is a pic of the coloring - 

~Cheers

Yulissa's super cool reply and also b'day SNG...

A happy happy day today as I got not one but two mails from CI and both are from Yulissa... just a week ago, I was cribbing that I haven't got a letter from her in a while. It was super cool to get two replies that soon... I think the B'day SNG was sent way too early... But it is great to get the reply this soon. As always she had some sweet drawing in the back of the reply (which I always love)... So here goes... the first reply...

"Dear Sponsor NMk
I am very happy to say hello again. I have been on vacation these past months and I want to tell you that I passed the 5th grade of elementary school with 10 for average and I got an award. I am very happy and I also like computers class because we have them in school. I also talk about you at home with my grandparents, my aunts, my uncles and cousins. My father is better and my mother went to some courses and she can cut hair very well. Now I say goodbye, thank you very much.
Yulissa
I pray for you"
As expected, another super sweet letter from Yulissa. She passed her 5th grade with 100% and got an award too... She is the best :)... 
And that was not all... Imagine my surprise when I got her b'day SNG within a week of her b'day. She celebrated her b'day on 18th September. So here is the SNG reply (with photos :D)

Yulissa's comments on the SNG - "Thank you sponsor, for thinking about me and loving me so much. I love you very much too and you are very special for me. I will always remember that I have an angel who loves me and takes care of me. Thank you for sending me a b'day gift. It made my b'day a very special and nice day."
She also wrote a letter with the SNG reply - 
"Dear donor,
I am very happy to say hello to you and to write to you. I had not written to you in a long time. Thank you very much for sending me the donation. I was able to get t-shirts, a pair of tennis shoes that I needed and a pair of pants and cereals. I will have a better birthday thanks to all those things. We will have a small reunion with my cousins and I will show them all my gifts, thanks to you. Now I say goodbye. I am very happy. Thank you for being part of my life...
Yulissa"
She is the best thing to have happened in my life... Her letters and photos always lights me up... And it was the best day to get two letters from Yulissa... I will be sending her a reply rite away. Next up is to wait for Nicolle's b'day photos :)... Hoping I could get it in a week.. Greedy I know.. but it could happen ;)
And time for some more photos - 

ChEeRs

Happy Birthday to my dear sweetYulissa...

I am sorry I couldn't update earlier... Yulissa celebrated her 10th birthday on September 18th. A b'day she also shares with one of my very good friends. A very happy day overall considering that my friend had a baby on that same day :)...

SNG for b'day was already sent... Now all taht is left to do is to wait for the photos... I suddenly feel like I am getting all my letters very very slow (especially this year)... Could be partly because I am also sending letters late.. But I have always had quick turnaround from Mexico office before... They seem to have slowed down...

I just hope I get the photos on time :) Can't wait for it as always :)... And just so you know... Yulissa loves dolphins :)

Yulissa's updated record 2012...

Yulissa's record was also updated along with her new photo. It is just that I missed it like everything else when I went to India (April 2012). So I thought I will update it at least now... She has definitely grown for sure... She has grown 5 inches in a year to 4"7'. She is weighing 100 pounds (which from her health report says she is in second level of obesity and treated for it)... She has added Grammar and Science to her favorite subjects apart from Mathematics... That explains how she gets 10/10 in all her subjects. She likes everything... :)... Her fav pass times are playing with dolls, toys and cars (:)) and her hobbies include sports and drawing (which is very good at )... The happiest news is that her income has really increased well. It was 233$ last time and it has jumped to 400$ which I am very happy to hear. Considering the fact that her dad is not well currently, the extra income is a real boost to them now. She is one of the sweetest kids I know and I wish she gets everything she wants in her life.. I will do my best to make it happen :)
~Cheers

Another super sweet letter from Yulissa

Well, after coming back from India, I found two sweet letters from Yulissa and Nicolle... I know I am updating them all late... But I am predating the blog so that I don't miss out on the sequence. This letter has got to be one of the sweetest so far... Her innocence (as always) is overflowing... So here goes...
Yulissa's letter - 
"Dear Manikandan
I am very happy to say hello to you again. My family is doing well; my mother doesn't struggle with me because I am very quiet; but my siblings are two little 'devils' and sometimes they make and my mother angry. But I love them very much. Talking about my toys, my younger brother likes playing with the whale and I have already named them. Say hello to your mother and father for me. Also send my best wishes to your mother for mother's day. Now I say goodbye and I hope to write to you again soon.
Sincerely,
Yulissa"
I love the way she writes for one... The way she calls her brothers little devils... naming the toys... She is super sweet and super cute as always.. :) Also my mom was super happy to know that she was wished for Mother's day especially after me missing out due to the timezone difference ;)

ChEeRs

Yulissa replies ~ Thanks to Lindsey

Another happy day, another happy mail from CI. Thanks to Lindsey, I got this sweet letter from one of my sweetest kids. Yup Yulissa wrote yet another great letter. I got 3 photos and all of them are so cute. I think she has got long hair though I have no idea why I said that :) . There were two kids in the pic. I guess that should be her brothers Calep and Victor(younger one). So here goes the letter




"Dear Mani,

Hello Mani, thank you for the cuddling toys (Thank you Lindsey) that you sent me, they are very nice, especially the baby seal. The whale looks curious, in the shark the teeth are very curious and the seal whiskers of the big seal are nice. Thank you for all that you have supported me and for all the presents that you have sent me, they are beautiful. I have them all and I take care of them. I was taken a picture with my new friends, they are : the seal, the shark, the whale and the baby seal which is my favorite. At school, I am doing very well, I have only got 10s and I love my family a lot and I love you too because you are part of my family. I hope to write you soon again. I say goodbye for now. 
Sincerely
Yulissa
Goodbye"
Again, that was one of the sweetest letters I have read. I really wanna go meet her. Maybe I will by the end of the year. I so hope :)... All in all, a great day, thanks to CI, Lindsey and my sweet Yulissa...
~ChEeRs

New Year, New reply from my Sweet Yulissa...

Yipppeeee... Another mail already from CI :)... This year has already been rocking to me and on top of that two mails already... This time from my sweet Yulissa. I always get excited seeing CI mails. But Yulissa is always extra special to me, probably coz she was my first chosen kid. And also she writes the sweetest of the letters too. And Oh, She had a very very cute drawing, a princess I would assume (just like her)...
So the letter and the drawing - 

"Dear Mani, (She had a cute smiley drawn next to the name :))
I write to you to say hello again. I am very happy that you remember me and my family. We are all doing well. My mother is fine and my father is in rehabilitation after his accident. My siblings are as energetic as always (hahaha), but everything is fine. The subjects that I like the most are Math, Geography and history. I like listening to music and Michael Jackson. Here we celebrate the Day of the Dead. We make very nice altars and we also celebrate Halloween (I had asked her if she celebrates Halloween), but we don't celebrate the same way as in your country. Now I say goodbye. I was very happy to say hello to you. 
Sincerely
Yulissa"
Isn't she cute :). And I love the drawing so much for some reason :). And can someone tell me what the words in the drawing mean. Google translate tells me it is something similar to God Bless You without the word 'que'. The smile in the drawing so much resembles her. :) Yet another direct letter. I am starting to love all this correspondence. And also some of them are pretty quick too. I will pray that I get more of these beautiful letters even faster :)

Yulissa's health report :(

I finally got Yulissa's health report. It was quite a wait actually. Took more than 2 months. Not the best of news... Definitely not what I wanted to hear. The report says she has been diagonised with myopia and a second level of obesity. She now wears glasses and is also scheduled to see a nutritionist  it seems. Since she is sponsored, they had informed that the costs are met from 'Emergency Medical Fund'. I didn't know such a thing even existed. Few clarified that this fund supports medical emergencies and glasses (though common) is covered in that fund. I am happy to know that she is taken care of.
Even I have had myopia. It is not that great a risk if identified early and also glasses are worn regularly. And I am definitely not sure about the obesity. While I have no clue what is second level according to medical checkup, I always believe obesity is not that much of an issue as long as the person is active. One of her favorite activity is playing football. Anyways she is being looked into for that also and I am happy for that. I am not a fan of hospitals and I generally don't go unless I see blood. So this is all kinda hazy to me. I hope she gets well soon. All her letters make me feel special... I look forward to more letters and good health from her...
~ChEeRs

Another sweet mail from Yulissa

I know.. Time to catch up. I am still at that tortoise pace for updating all the blogs that I have already updated in LiftOne. I will sure catch up and have all the posts updated and synchronized by this weekend. I should have updated this even before Suman's b'day wish. 
So I get another super sweet mail from my super cute Yulissa :). This is for the direct package I sent to her before her b'day. Not much of a package if you realize she did not get the puzzle game I sent her. She got a book on space and astronomy and also a couple of greeting cards. As always, her response made my day :). And what's better? More photos :)
Here is the letter with my fav pic (with the dolphin card). And oh, did I mention that she drew some cute colored stars over the letter... I loved it. More Photos to follow in a separate post :)

"Dear sponsor Mani (I had told her that she can call me Mani),
Thank you for my gifts, especially for my birthday card. I loved the book but the sea card is great, how did you know that I love the sea? Especially dolphins, so you and I like similar things, don't you think? (That right there is pure innocence to me. She had stated before that she likes the sea and especially the dolphins. But I can see her excitement in this letter)
This was one of my best birthdays because I lived one more year, God let my father stay with us and you are good to me. (If that is not maturity beyond years, I will never know what is). Thank you for everything you sent me, my birthday will truly be unforgettable. 
Let me tell you that my mother gave me a cake and it was delicious because it was a cheese cake. I put candles on it and I enjoyed it very much, we ate it all in 5 mins (That s just like me - Kiddish :P). I send you my greetings and thank you again for everything. Until next time. 
Your sponsored child,
Yulissa"
A sincere, heartfelt and a special thanks to Frumor (i don't have original name), from L1 because of whom I was able to get the book too. This is like the 4th letter in 6 months.
Yulissa is my second sponsored kid, the first one I chose for myself actually. She is the best thing tat has happened to me in a while. I will cherish this letter the most for two reasons. I see her innocence and also her maturity in the same letter. She is more mature than me at her age :). I am glad I was able to sponsor her...


~ChEeRs

More photos from Yulissa's B'day :)

I love all the photos... Makes my day!

Yulissa with her Tees. She really as a sense of style :)

I don't know if it is her face. She has got this cute smile which might burst out anytime...  And dimples...

Yulissa's Birthday SNG response

What can I say.. Other than I am on cloud 9 right now... Yulissa always makes me smile and finally today (after a month's wait) I got the SNG reply :D. And I got back loadsa photos too... :). I am happy to know that they were able to buy quite a few stuffs. And also got a wonderful letter from her. So here goes - 
"Dear Sponsor,
Thank you for remembering my birthday. I was able to buy many things: my favorite cereal, shampoo, personal hygiene items, I bought pajamas, school supplies, a pair of tennis shoes that are great; I have many gifts thanks to you. 
My birthday will be a sunday and my mother will make my favorite meal, "quesadillas" and mashed potatoes. For dessert, we will have lemon pie. I went back to school already and I am doing my best. I am happy with all the things. I have never had so many gifts. I will never forget this day. I also loved your letter, it is very nice. (I sent her greeting card, not sure if that is what she meant). 
Thank you or everything. God bless you. Goodbye.
Sincerely, Yulissa"


And that is with the letter.

I loved all the photos that were sent. And I like this one most :)... More pics to come soon separately...

Made my day :)

Happy Birthday Yulissa!

Today is one of favourite Kid's birthday. She is the cutest kid on the planet, yes, it is Yulissa's birthday. She is nine years old now :). I had already sent the amount to CI for the b;day gift. I so can't wait for the b'day photos from her. This is also a special day because she shares the b'day with one of my good friends... So double the joy for me :) Yulissa is my second child, and the first child I chose online... She will always be special to me. I have just got two letters from her so far and both of the letter has been one of the sweetest I have read. I have been sponsoring her only less than 6 months. I still know she is a great kid and a great future awaits her. She is far too mature for her age... I wish her to have her best b'day ever and may all her wishes come true... And also next week is another one of kid's b'day... Looking forward to that too... Coz she is one special kid :)

Yulissa's education report

Well, this did not take as long as I feared and it also gave me some super happy news :). Yup, I got Yulissa's education report. Here it is -

She goes to a school which is also attended by 509 other students. The school has brick and adobe walls and cement floors. The facilities include a schoolyard, a playground area, 15 classrooms, a computer laboratory and a library. (Well the facilities seem good enough).
Her school is 25 minutes away and she takes the public transport. She has just finished her 3rd grade and she will start 4th grade in august (oops it is already august :) )
Here is the great news about her academic performance. Her grades are excellent and her educational progress is advanced. (Loved it) Her favorite subject is Mathematics. As part of the program, she has received a backpack, school supplies and shoes. She will continue to attend school. Sh wants to get a degree and she would like to become a chef in the future...

In the second sheet they had 'Calificaciones' and I believe they mean scores (google translate told me so). She has got an overall score of above 9 in all of her subjects and also 10 in a couple of them. In fact in the last two terms from March till July she has got a ten in all her subjects. I don't know how it makes her parents feel, I am definitely on cloud number 9 :)

ChEeRs

A sweet welcome letter from Yulissa

After a long wait I got the welcome letter and also a CP letter from Yulissa. Actaully, they kinda both have the same coontent as partly it is my mistake. I sent a mail from the CI website. I was just testing it and hence didn't write anything much. But I am totally taken by her welcome letter. Did I tell you she is the most adorable of my kids? Of course Nicolle can give her some competition :). Being my first selected kid, she will always be special to me. So here is the sweetest welcome letter that she sent me :)

The translation -
Hello sponsor,

I am in 3rd grade of elementary school. I like reading, drawing and doing math exercises. and I participate in the Church's choir. I like water animals (especially dolphins - from CP letter). I lke studying very much. When I grow up I would like to become a chef. My favorite color is pink. I would like to learn more about other planets. I am tall; I have brown eyes and I am white. I have brown hair. I like pretending I am a clown and making my cousins and siblings laugh. I have 2 grandfathers and 2 grandmothers. The weather is very hot here but it is nice. There is a park near one of my grandmother's home and sometimes we go play there for a while.

Now I say goodbye; I will write yoou again soon.

Yulissa

Thank you for everything.

I totally loved the letter. One thing is for sure. Her handwriting is definitely better than mine :). In the CP letter it was pretty much the same thing. And she had mentioned that her dad was sick but he was getting better. There were two things in both the letters that really captivated me. One is her drawing and the other is her varied range of interests. She likes to draw and make things with clay and also she likes to play the beautician... On both the letters her drawing was so cute. Take a look for yourself :)

This was in the CW letter. She had drawn a picture of an astronaut. I really liked it because in the same letter she had mentioned that she wanted to be an astronaut and also how interested she was in knowing more about the planets.

This was in her CP letter. A simple yet colorful and happy drawing. The moment I saw this, I couldn't help but smile. This brought so much happiness to me... I also felt that her letter was very open. She told me about herself and her interests. This gives me very less questions to ask, but a great deal of topics to discuss. And oh, one more interest which the young lady has (not mentioned in the letter) is soccer. And I love soccer :)

The welcome letter and CP letter for Yulissa was actually delayed. I know how much I had the bugged the CI representatives asking about the status. Of course they were more than helpful to track it for me. Let me tell you this. It was worth all the wait for the happiness it brought. I am so glad I found CI and also that I found 5 kids who could give me so much inner peace.
~ChEeRs